1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vibration isolation system for reducing vibratory forces transmitted to a body from a vibrating mass connected thereto, and in particular, to a vibration isolation system wherein inertia forces resulting from vibration induced acceleraton of an auxiliary mass connected between the vibrating mass and the body to be protected are transmitted back to the body to oppose and reduce the effects of the undesired vibration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A known method of isolating a body from a mass which is vibrating at a substantially constant frequency is to connect the vibrating mass to the body by a spring member and by an auxiliary mass which is arranged so that the inertia forces generated by vibration induced displacement of the auxiliary mass acts on the body to substantially cancel the vibratory forces transmitted through the spring member.
To isolate a body from linear vibratory forces in any direction, the vibration isolator must be capable of isolating linear vibratory forces which are directed parallel to any one of three mutually orthogonal axes of the vibrating mass. However, prior known vibraton isolators of this kind are only capable of isolating linear vibratory forces directed along one or two of these three mutually orthogonal axes. Consequently, at least two of these prior known vibration isolators are required to isolate a body connected to a vibrating mass from linear vibratory forces directed parallel to all three axes. For example, a vibration isolator of this type which is capable of isolating linear vibratory forces directed parallel to the plane defined by two of these three mutually orthogonal axes is described in my U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 091,437, filed Nov. 5, 1979.